A broad class of arylpyrrole compounds and their insecticidal use in crop protection and animal health are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,098; U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,938; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,263. It has now been found that a small select group of these arylpyrrole compounds are particularly useful for the control of pestiferous subterranean termites.
Termites are known to occur in virtually every state in the U.S., except Alaska, in all U.S. territories, and throughout the world in every continent except Antarctica. Termites cause extensive damage to wood, wood structures, wood products and cultivated plants and crops. They invade and damage poles, posts, timbers, lumber, buildings, shelters and the like. They are also destructive to cultivated plants and crops where they burrow into stems, tunnel out stalks and roots, and girdle the bark of trees. They eat grass and injure or damage field crops such as rubber, tea, coffee, cocoa, citrus and sugarcane.
Conventional methods to control termites have a common mechanism of action. This mechanism employs a chemical zone through which termites will not travel. This zone acts as a barrier by, either directly or indirectly, repelling the termites. However, while effective in repelling termites, conventional treatments cause very little, if any, effective control of the termite populations, as very few termites which encounter the barrier actually expire. Therefore, due to the minimal termite mortality and impact on termite foraging activity of conventional termite control methods, there remain vast populations of termites that continue to represent a significant threat to growing and harvested wood, wood products and wooden structures. In light of the limitations of conventional materials and methods to control termite populations, alternatives to the conventional methods for controlling these significantly destructive insects is highly desirable.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an efficient, efficacious method for the control of pestiferous subterranean termite populations.
It is a feature of this invention that the pressure and threat of destructive termite populations may be significantly reduced.
Further objects and features of the invention will become apparent in the detailed description set forth below.